Street-car sign.



WILLIAM BRUNDELL, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

STREET-CAR SIGN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1, 1907.

Application filed December 29, 1906. Serial No. 350,045.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM BRUNDELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Street Car Signs, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings as constituting a part thereof.

This invention has for its object to provide an inexpensive sign for street cars adapted to be placed in the sign-rack now commonly provided above the window of streetcars, and which shall present the novel oscillating features hereinafter described, so as to attract. the eye of the public, at the same time being inexpensive to make.

I attain my object as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

,Figure 1 is a perspective of my invention, showing the same as aflfixed in the card-rack of a street car; Fig. 2 is a detail showing a part of the rear side of my sign; and Fig. 3 is an end elevation thereof.

Referring now to the letters: My sign comprises a back board 41, preferably provided witha central vertical rib b, to which rib are pivotally affixed a plurality of horizontal strips of card-board, or like serviceable material, 0, and the ends of such strips are united by cords d, d. The described pivoting of the strips 0 may be effected by means of little adhesive tabs 6, provided with eyes f, and the latter are engaged by staples g, affixed to the vertical rib b, approximately as shown in the partial rear view of my sign, Fig. 2, in which the back board ,a is shown in broken outline, so as to uncover the pivot joints of said strips 0. It will also be noted that the strips 0 are by the above indicated means also substantially hinged at their upper edges. The function of the cords d, d, is to hold all the strips 0 in relative position and cause the same to move simultaneously with each other, when the sign as a whole tilts in one direction or the other. The back board a of my sign will be placed in the sign-rack h, h, of the car, as

usual, and when so placed, the strips 0 will hang forward, as shown in the views, Figs. 1 and 3, and will tilt or oscillate with the motion of the car. That is to say, upon the car traveling over an incline the sign-strips 0, being pivoted at their center, and connected at their ends, will move up and down at their ends, relatively to such incline, and thus provide an additional attraction forthe eye.

The strips 0 of the middle part of the sign may be used to bear the sections of large letters, as shown in Fig. 1, while on the top and bottom strips c, 0 may be imprinted words in smaller type. The effect of the tilting of the sign, as indicated by the broken outlines, would be to cause a staggered appearance to the outlines of the large middle letters, such outlines changing more or less in appearance while thus being observed, and thereby also catching the eye. At'the same time the large letters will at all times be sufficiently distinct to be readily legible. Of course each strip 0 could be used for words of small type.

The function of the central vertical strip is to hold the ends of the horizontal strips 0 clear of the back, to thus prevent excessive frictional contact, and thereby to facilitate the tilting of the horizontal strips on their pivots.

I claim:

1. A sign comprising a back, a series of pivots a plurality of horizontal strips thereby loosely hinged centrally at their upper edges to the hack, and cords uniting the ends of said strips to each other, whereby the latter are free to oscillate individually in a vertical plane and simultaneously to tilt, in relative unison, on their pivots.

2. A sign comprising a back, a friction obviating strip affixed to the middle thereof, a series of pivots thereon, a plurality of horizontal strips thereby loosely hinged centrally at their upper edges to such friction obviating strip, and cords uniting the ends of the strips to each other, whereby the strips are free to oscillate individually in a vertical plane and simultaneously to tilt, in relative unison, on their pivots.

' I WILLIAM BRUNDELL.

Witnesses p A. D. GERKING, RALPH R. DUNIWAY. 

